SACF Awards Grants For 2025
The Stanley Area Community Foundation presented grants to eight different entities this year. A total of $95,910 in grants was awarded to projects that will serve the community and area as a whole. The Foundation received ten applications totaling $138,148.88.00 in requests.
This year’s recipients were the Blue Jay Boosters as a part of the continued commitment for the Will Athletic Complex upgrades, BIO Girls for expanding the new Stanley chapter, the Domestic Violence Program for security/nanny cameras, Mountrail Bethel Home Health Foundation for window coverings, ND Newspaper Association Education Foundation for Kids Scoop News, Prairie Rose Golf Course for a fairway mower, the Stanley High School FBLA for chapter t-shirts, and The Difference – A Holistic Approach for their Vibroacoustic Therapy in Harmony Lounge.
The Stanley Area Community Foundation was created in 2008 by a group of concerned citizens who wanted to create a permanent financial resource to support local nonprofit projects. The purpose of SACF is to maintain a permanent source of funding for projects in the community of Stanley and the immediate surrounding area. Gifts from many individuals are pooled together and invested in a permanent fund. Each year, the local advisory committee uses income from the foundation to make grants. As the Foundation continues to grow, the amount they are able to give also increases. In their first year, grants totaled $4,676, rising to $90,140 last year. Including this year’s grants, the Foundation has awarded $848,590 in grants.
Each year, SACF has seen charitable giving grow. Contributions in 2013 to the Foundation were about $320,000 bringing the total at the end of the year to just over $700,000. In 2016 the Foundation reached their target goal of hitting the $1 million mark. As that figure continues to grow, they can increase their giving. Two years ago, the Foundation’s assets exceeded the $2 million mark. This year, despite the difficult market environment, the Foundation’s assets sit at approximately $3.23 million.
As the end of the year approaches, many people are looking for charitable giving options and the Foundation board believes this is one way to donate locally and support the community.
Grants awarded in the past have included The Stanley High School Student Council, Acro Stars Gymnastics, the Crazy Cat Crew, The Little Lemon (FBLA) lemonade stand, Brew Jay Coffee (FCCLA), Van Hook Association, Stanley FFA, Flickertail Village, Women of Today, Stanley Parks and Recreation, Stanley High School Vo-Ag, Ina Mae Rude Aquatic Center, Stanley Fire Department, Mountrail Community Food Pantry, Blue Jays Boosters, the Golden Age Club, the Rural Mental Health Consortium, Stanley FCCLA, Stanley DECA, the Stanley High School Band, Mountrail Bethel Home, Domestic Violence NWND program, Stanley High School Speech Team, Stanley High School Drama Club, Opportunity Foundation, The Sibyl Center, the Mountrail County Health Foundation, the S.A.C.K. program, Prairie Rose Golf Club, Stanley Elementary School, the Stanley Wrestling Club, and the Mountrail County Aquatic Foundation.
With North Dakota tax laws, charitable giving to endowments and foundations has never been more attractive to the state’s residents. Both qualifying businesses and individuals can now claim up to 40% of their gift as tax credits on their state income tax. Those credits can also be carried forward for more than one year. With the reduction in the state tax and the credit that may also be applied to federal taxes, the gift is one that allows taxpayers to choose charitable organizations to receive tax dollars. The gift then also helps to support their communities in unique ways like the Stanley Area Community Foundation. When considering charitable giving, businesses and individuals should always consult their tax professionals to make sure they are doing what is best and right for their own individual circumstances.
Those wishing to donate to the Stanley Area Foundation can send their tax-deductible gift to: Stanley Area Community Foundation, PO Box 251, Stanley, ND 58784. For more information on the foundation, you can contact Ashley Skarsgard at (701) 629-1735 or John Heinen at (701) 590-4614. The local advisory committee consists of Melissa Bristol, Wayne Johnson, Mark Longmuir, Abbey Ruland and Ashley Skarsgard.
Organized in 1976, the ND Community Foundation was formed as an efficient means of meeting the needs of North Dakota in the educational, charitable, arts, scientific and health areas. It is a public nonprofit tax-exempt corporation which receives and distributes charitable funds to support a wide range of programs which benefit North Dakotans. The Foundation administers charitable endowment and non-endowment funds in both the restricted and unrestricted categories on behalf of communities, businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals.